United States Mission Geneva

The United States strongly supports your work to combat discrimination and to highlight issues of concern relating to minorities. We thank you for your report on your work with UNICEF as well as for the report of your work ot raise awareness of the Forum’s recommendations regarding education. We commend your efforts to work across the UN system.

The United States appreciates the reports of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, the Social Forum and the Forum on Minority issues. We read with interest the report of the Advisory Committee, in particular the draft declaration on human rights education and training. We agree that human rights education and training is intimately connected to the enjoyment of human rights. People can only effectively exercise human rights that they understand. We look forward to engaging with you all to produce a declaration aimed specifically at promoting best practices for the furthering of human rights education and training.

The United States agrees that protecting IDPs remains one of the greatest humanitarian challenges facing the international community today. We recognize the importance of the Representative’s visits to more than 20 countries with conflict-induced internal displacement, and we appreciate his work to highlight key concerns with these visits. The United States will continue to advocate for improved humanitarian access where it is unduly restricted by violence against humanitarian workers or bureaucratic red tape.

The United States welcomes the rapporteur’s far-sighted recommendations, both to the DPRK and to the international community, and agrees that improving conditions in the country requires an integrated and collaborative approach. The United States would be interested in further insights from Professor Muntarbhorn on how countries can utilize their bilateral relationships in an integrated manner to advance human rights issues in the DPRK.

We note that since the release of Mr. Quintana’s report, the government has promulgated its electoral laws. While the election date has not been set, we are deeply disappointed with the laws, which exclude all of the country’s more than 2,000 political prisoners from political participation, impose onerous restrictions on political activity, and limit the ability of political parties to operate and organize. We are also troubled that the law appears to bar National League of Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running for office—and that it may in fact prohibit her from membership in her own party. This is a serious step in the wrong direction. As announced, the law offers little prospect for holding the free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections that the international community has called for.

Regrettably, there are far too many examples in all regions of governments abusing human rights. Governments use arbitrary detention, arrest, and imprisonment to prevent people from exercising their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those pertaining to expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion. We addressed two situations earlier today and ask this Council to stand with the victims of human rights abuses and consider the following situations in its deliberations:

Governments can and should take an active role in promoting tolerance and respect for diversity. We have repeatedly stated our resolve to combat intolerance, discrimination and hate crimes. We need to do a better job of putting those words into action. We remain concerned by the trend of governments putting restrictions on places of worship, religious attire, the use of minority languages, or peaceful cultural expression; and actions by political leadership that exploit ethnic tensions or reiterate unhelpful stereotypes. We remain concerned about police raids and arrests for peaceful religious activity and religious groups facing difficulties in registration.

Today, the United States is making women a cornerstone of foreign policy because we think it’s the right thing to do, but we also believe it’s the smart thing to do as well. Investing in the potential of the world’s women and girls is one of the surest ways to achieve global economic progress, political stability, and greater prosperity for women — and men — the world over.

While officially considered protected areas by the government, national forests in Bangladesh are commonly encroached upon by citizens of surrounding communities and are havens for illegal logging activities. These are mostly poor people who depend on removing timber to sell as fuel for wood-burning stoves or use for construction purposes.